New year means new possibilities for us all. I got a jumpstart in November 2019 with my resolution to become more conscious about my life choices and business practices. We plant trees with every purchase, donate garments, make blankets from left over fabrics, create limited edition pieces, and work with local boutiques.
This article is written to help you discover how to attain your earth friendly resolution. No, you are not required to become a tree hugger or stop eating meat (unless that's another one of your resolutions). Start here and see where it takes you
3 ways you can become an Eco Fashionista
- Save gas + Shop local
- Vintage, Small batch, Slow fashion
- Donate or Renew
Save Gas + Shop local
For every $100 you spend at locally owned businesses, $68 will stay in the community. What happens when you spend that same $100 at a national chain? Only $43 stays in the community.* When you shop locally, you help provide jobs for many essential professions. Buying from a locally owned business conserves energy and resources in the form of less fuel for transportation and less packaging. Like Cheers, everybody knows your name. Choosing local business owners encourages and strengthens community.
*Source: Civic Economics – Andersonville Study of Retail Economics.
3 ways you can become an Eco Fashionista
Vintage, Small Batch, Slow fashion
By practicing any of these options, you are helping the environment, reducing trash and toxins.
One of the best advantages of buying vintage is that it can be considered a collectible, just like art. Like valuable collectors items, vintage is a unique piece of history. Vintage fashion means quality, handmade craftsmanship, and natural fabrics far more superior than polyester.
Why Opt for Small Batch clothing brands? Small batch AKA limited edition collections allow small business owners like Shop the Kei to create fashion without excess inventory. For Shop the Kei, we produce 10-30 pieces of a style for each local boutique to sell their customers. Compare that to 1,000 pieces department stores must make to fill their quotas. Often times, we design special collections based on what we learned from customer feedback. Taking a small scale approach cuts down on the fabric and supplies we purchase as well as how many different styles we launch. Customer feedback also effects how quickly we provide better products to suit your needs.
Fast fashion is cheap, trendy clothing, made at breakneck speed. By comparison, slow fashion is an awareness approach to fashion, which considers the processes and resources required to make clothing, particularly focusing on sustainability. It involves better-quality garments that will last for longer and values fair treatment of people, animals and the planet.
3 ways you can become an Eco Fashionista
Donate or Renew
If you no longer want it, why suffer another year looking at it? One woman's trash is another's treasure. Call ahead and take your donations to a church or other service that gives clothing to people in need for free. Goodwill, ThredUp, and Buffalo exchange resell your unwanted clothes if they're in good condition.
There are many ways to renew clothes you no longer can wear but cannot part with. The oldest option is taking them to a tailor but if you're talking casual wear, perhaps patches, fancy stitching, intentional fraying or other DIY techniques will add a personal touch to your outfits. The most out of the box idea is to repurpose your garments into something useful like jeans become a tote bag or a tee shirt turned bikini.
3 ways you can become an Eco Fashionista
Rent New
One possibly sustainable option I am skeptical about and have yet to try are clothing rental subscriptions like Rent the Runway and Fashion to Figure Closet. You get new styles regularly delivered to your door, filling that need for newness without stuffing your closet. Although it is unclear whether they sell vintage fashion, I am skeptical that this idea is aligned with eco practices such as slow fashion and small batch. Im curious to know what experience you have with clothing rental subscriptions.
You can do this!
Any new idea is a difficult one and resolutions often get lost after spring time hits but I know if you do it for a great reason and are consistently passionate about it, you will become an Eco fashionista! No matter how you begin your eco journey, feel proud knowing that you are in the right direction.
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